Wole Shadare 
The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is on the verge of completing the installation of Surface Movement Radar (SMR) for the country’s two busiest aerodromes of Lagos and Abuja.
The installation of the safety ground surveillance tool would help to detect negligent and criminal activities on the ground that are inimical to air safety including runway incursions, excursions and incidents of stowaway.
The SMR projects at both Lagos and Abuja airports have reached 95 per cent completion stage with completion time slated before the end of the year. The SMR is a surveillance system that works effectively with transponders fitted to vehicles and motorbikes that patrol the sensitive airside of aerodromes.
The Managing Director of NAMA, Ahmed Umar Farouk, who was represented by the agency’s General Manager, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Mr. Ogogore Jonny Kevwe, at the Surface Movement Radar (SMR) sensitisation event in Lagos at the weekend, explained that the radar system was configured in two parts which are the primary and secondary.
The sensitisation brought together all stakeholders in the industry including domestic and foreign airlines, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), operators of private airlines, security operatives and other critical stakeholders.
The primary radar, he noted, could detect every vehicle that is going on the ground, which does the job of the Surface Movement Radar, adding that it aids the controllers to see every aircraft with the help of transponders.
Speaking to New Telegraph, he said: “Every aircraft will be seen by the primary radar but it won’t be able to say this is a particular vehicle or not.
